Firm Description
Wealth Advisory Solutions (“WAS”) is an Indiana limited liability company
formed on May 25, 2017. The Adviser is an investment adviser registered with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Advisers Act”). The
principal owners of WAS are Steve Kyburz, Ty Needler, and Kim Custer. The
primary types of investment advisory services offered by the Adviser are
investment management and financial planning.
In addition, WAS is also doing business as The Monument Circle Group
(“TMCG”). TMCG is owned and operated by Steven Smith, Johnelle Smith and
Ty Needler. TMCG provides the same investment advisory services as WAS.
Investment Management
Investment advisory services offered by TMCG are specifically tailored to meet
the needs of each client. Prior to delivering investment advisory services, the
Adviser will ascertain each client’s specific investment objective. Then TMCG
will allocate, or recommend that the client allocate, their investment assets
consistent with the designated investment objective. Clients may impose
reasonable restrictions on any of the Adviser’s investment advisory services at
any time, but restrictions must be delivered to the Adviser.
In addition, the Adviser also provides active trading models to Clients consisting
mostly of stocks and ETFs. Clients in the Adviser’s active trading model must
authorize the Adviser to exercise discretionary trading authority over the assets
dedicated to the client’s recommended investment strategy, which includes the
initial allocation and ongoing rebalancing. The discretionary authority allows
TMCG to buy, sell or otherwise trade the assets in the client’s account without
prior approval of each transaction.
Rollover Recommendations
As part of our investment advisory services to you, we may recommend that
you withdraw the assets from your employer's retirement plan and roll the
assets over to an individual retirement account ("IRA") that we will manage on
your behalf. If you elect to roll the assets to an IRA that is subject to our
management, we will charge you an asset-based fee as set forth in the
agreement you executed with our firm. This practice presents a conflict of
interest because persons providing investment advice on our behalf have an
incentive to recommend a rollover to you for the purpose of generating fee-
based compensation rather than solely based on your needs. You are under
no obligation, contractually or otherwise, to complete the rollover. Moreover, if
you do complete the rollover, you are under no obligation to have the assets in
an IRA managed by our firm.
Many employers permit former employees to keep their retirement assets in
their company plan. Also, current employees can sometimes move assets out
of their company plan before they retire or change jobs. In determining whether
to complete the rollover to an IRA, and to the extent the following options are
available, you should consider the costs and benefits of: 1)) Leaving the funds
in your employer's (former employer's) plan; 2) moving the funds to a new
employer's retirement plan; 3) cashing out and taking a taxable distribution from
the plan; and/or 4) rolling the funds into an IRA rollover account. Each of these
options has advantages and disadvantages and before making a change we
encourage you to speak with your CPA and/or tax attorney. Our
recommendations may include any of them, depending on what we feel is in
your best interest.
We are fiduciaries under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and when we
provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or
individual retirement account, we are also fiduciaries within the meaning of Title
I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and/or the Internal
Revenue
Code, as applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. As a
fiduciary, we are required to document the reason(s) for why the
recommendation we made is in your best interest.
Financial Planning
TMCG offers financial planning services to Investment Management Clients at
no additional cost or obligation. TMCG begins with an intensive fact-finding
session which helps the Adviser become totally familiar with the client’s current
financial situation (including among other things, income taxes, investments,
insurance, estate affairs and family circumstances), as well as their personal
goals and priorities for the next several years. Then, working from this
comprehensive information, the Adviser prepares a detailed financial plan
which documents the client’s situation, identifies all areas which will be
impacted, and makes specific goal-oriented recommendations. The Adviser’s
specific goal-oriented recommendations are designed to educate and allow a
client to coordinate his/her financial affairs more efficiently, increase cash flow,
prudently reduce income taxes, and attempt to improve his/her overall net
worth. Once this written document has been discussed with the client, the
recommendations that the client feels comfortable with are scheduled for
implementation with specific deadlines to be met. TMCG continues to assist
the client based on an annual review of services in all applicable areas
including estate, retirement, cash flow and tax planning.
For clients interested only in financial planning and do not have assets
invested with TMCG they may enter into a financial planning agreement
only and be charged a fixed planning fee agreed upon within the financial
planning agreement
Please Note: It is always the client’s responsibility to promptly notify TMCG if
there is any change in their financial situation or investment objective. This
notification of change allows the Adviser an opportunity to review, evaluate, or
revise our previous recommendations or services.
Additional Services –
The Adviser may furnish advice on matters not involving securities, such as:
Retirement Income Planning Personal Financial Planning
Withdrawal Rate Analysis Education Planning
Cash Flow & Budgeting Employee Benefits & 401(k) Guidance
Life Insurance Review & Planning Corporate Retirement Plan Guidance
Estate & Charitable Gift Planning Tax Planning
Business Successions Investment Planning
Trust Services Annuities
Life Insurance Long Term Care Insurance
Tailored Relationships
At TMCG, advisory services are tailored to the specific needs of each client.
Prior to providing advisory services, the Adviser will ascertain each client’s
investment goals and objectives. The Adviser then allocates and/or
recommends that the client allocate investment assets consistent with the
designated investment objective. The client may, at any time, impose
reasonable restrictions on the Adviser’s services, but restrictions must be
delivered to the Adviser.
In performing services for the client, the Adviser is not required to verify any
information it received from the client or from the client’s other professionals
and the Adviser is expressly authorized by the client to rely on this information.
Each client is advised that it remains the client’s responsibility to promptly notify
the Adviser if there is ever any change in the client’s financial situation or
investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating or revising the
Adviser’s previous recommendations or services to the client.
Managed Assets –
As of 12/31/2023, Wealth Advisory Solutions managed a total of $523,102,230
in discretionary assets under management and $12,251,793 in non-
discretionary assets under management.